Bechtel Allison, Joyce Michael, Dudek Christopher J, Sarandria John J, Shah Chetan, Saad Ali G
Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida.
Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Nemours Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida.
Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017 Mar;64(3). doi: 10.1002/pbc.26247. Epub 2016 Sep 12.
Granulomatous lung disease is a rare and perplexing differential in pediatrics. Pulmonary Cryptococcus falls into the differential but is not high on the list, particularly in a non-AIDS patient. Methotrexate (MTX) is a commonly used agent for chemotherapy in oncology and has been documented to cause lung injury in both patients with rheumatologic and oncologic diseases. Our patient had chronic cough and then developed an opportunistic infection resulting in respiratory failure. Lung biopsy showed two underlying unusual diagnoses: MTX lung injury and cryptococcal pneumonia. His case is presented with particular attention to his prolonged road to diagnosis.